Chandigarh, June 24 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday, led the Vidhan Sabha, in paying tribute to eminent personalities, freedom fighters, political personalities and noted Punjab singer Sidhu Moosewala, all who had passed away since the last session of the Assembly.
On the first day of Budget session, the House paid respects to former ministers Hardipinder Singh Badal and Jathedar Tota Singh, besides formers MLAs -- Sukhdev Singh Sukhladhi and Shingara Ram Sahungra.
The House also paid tribute to freedom fighters Tara Singh, Swarn Singh, Crora Singh and Sukhraj Singh Sandhawalia, who played a pivotal role in emancipating the country from the clutches of British imperialism.
Meanwhile, the House also paid homage to mountaineer and Arjun awardee Gurcharan Singh Bhangu, who was bestowed this prestigious award in 1965 for climbing the Mount Everest, and athlete Hari Chand, also an Arjun awardee, who brought laurels to the country in field of athletics.
The House also paid tributes to the famous Punjabi Singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, alias Sidhu Moosewala, who had carved a niche for himself in the vast field of music and entertainment.
The legislative assembly also paid homage to eminent Sikh personality Principal Surinder Singh.
A two-minute silence was observed in the memory of departed souls as a mark of respect during the obituary references.
The SYL canal, the major portions of which were completed in the 1990s at a cost of over Rs 750 crore, is entangled in a political and legal quagmire with Punjab and Haryana unwilling to give up their respective stands on the controversial canal issue and sharing of river water.
At the oath-taking venue, three podiums were set up on the stage. While the Governor and Mann were on the central podium, the second was occupied by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet, and the third by AAP's 91 legislators.
A day earlier, Sonia Gandhi asked party chiefs Sidhu in Punjab, Ganesh Godiyal in Uttarakhand, Ajay Kumar Lallu in Uttar Pradesh, Girish Chodankar in Goa and Nameirakpam Loken Singh in Manipur to resign. Sidhu, once a Chief Minister aspirant, faced defeat from his stronghold Amritsar (East) seat.
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the family members, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that on March 10, a protected witness in the case had been attacked and the state government did not file an appeal challenging the bail granted to Misra in the case.
The SAD also announced the expulsion of Kalka from the primary membership of the party, besides dissolving the party's Delhi unit. It also announced the formation of a five-member ad hoc committee headed by veteran leader Avtar Singh Hit, and comprising Harinder Singh Kaypee, Bhupinder Singh Anand, Gurdev Singh Bhola, and Ravinder Singh Khurana.
In December last year, the Supreme Court had said it expects a fair investigation and investigating agencies should be neutral, as it asked Delhi Police to conclude the probe, by December 15, in a case against Singh.
